Study with us | Adding to your degree

Your university experience isn’t just about studying for a degree. It’s also your chance to develop employability skills, broaden your horizons and gain real-world experience.

In this ‘Study with us’ blog, we’ve taken a look at how adding to your degree can enrich your experience at Newcastle University and help you lay the foundations for your future career.

Contents:

1. Gain work experience
2. Gain skills
3. Find work
4. Study or work abroad

Gain work experience

At Newcastle, our Careers Service can support you to gain valuable work experience in a variety of ways. 

Work placements. Customise your degree with a placement, spending nine to 12 months in the workplace.

Almost all our degrees are available with the option to complete a work placement, extending your degree by up to a year. 

Work placements give you the opportunity to develop skills sought-after by employers, explore your career options and make professional connections. You could also secure a reference that could help when applying for a job. Find out more here.

Internships. Shorter in length than a work placement, internships usually take place over the summer vacation or term time. They can help you:

• gain hands-on experience
• develop industry knowledge
• decide where your future career interests lie
• gain an insight into UK business culture
• make contacts within the sector
• gain positive feedback and references

Work shadowing. Experience a ‘day in the life’ of a member of staff in their workplace and get a better understanding of different graduate roles. Work shadowing can also give you a taste of what you could expect if you decide to complete an internship or placement year.

Insight days. Find out what it’s like to work for a particular organisation during an Insight Day or week. You’ll learn about the structure and culture of the organisation, as well as different opportunities and roles.

Volunteering. As a volunteer you’ll not only be helping others, you’ll be helping yourself by developing employability skills and gaining practical work experience. Some careers are difficult to get into without previous volunteer experience, so this is your chance to work in a field you’re interested in and make valuable contacts. Find out more here.

Virtual opportunities. Gain experience, or improve your skill set remotely through virtual roles, internships and online experience. You could start your own virtual venture, complete virtual voluteering to build skills and experience from home, or develop new skills through a host of online courses. Find out more here.

Gain skills

Want to build new skills and gain credit for them? You can...

ncl+ Award. Demonstrate to employers the skills you've gained from extracurricular activities through our ncl+ Award. 

You’ll complete 40 hours of extracurricular activity, submitting an activity log to show how you've spent your time. You'll also complete four short online learning units and submit answers to competency-based questions to demonstrate what you've gained from your experiences. 

Activities include almost anything you do outside of your degree which helps develop your graduate skills. This includes part-time jobs; volunteering; club and society roles; student representation; entrepreneurial activities; and team sports. 

Career modules. Completed over term-time our Career Development Module gives you the chance to build the skills employers are looking. A 20-credit module, you’ll spend a minimum of 50 hours on placement or in a professional activity. The main routes available are: student tutoring, student volunteering and learning from work.

Our Careers Service Placement Module is a 120-credit module completed over the course of the placement year (9-12 months). It’ll give you the chance to:

• experience searching and applying for jobs
• complete practical work experience
• apply your knowledge and skills in the work place
• learn how to explain what you have achieved to future employers

Find out more about our career modules here.

Find work

Part-time work isn't just about earning some extra money. You could find a job related to your degree course and gain valuable sector experience, too. Part-time work is flexible and can fit around your studies.   

There are also opportunities to work on campus for the University through our Jobs on Campus (JobsOC) scheme. Work is flexible to fit around your studies and you'll gain graduate skills including communication, teamwork, planning and organisation. You could also use your part-time job to work towards our ncl+ Award.

Study or work abroad

Expand your world with a global experience and gain an international perspective by studying or working abroad. You'll learn to operate in a global environment, grow in confidence, boost your language skills and make friends and connections across the world.

You could go overseas as a compulsory part of your degree, or you could choose to study or work in another country.

Global opportunities include:

Student exchanges. We have student exchange agreements with over 250 universities across 39 countries. This allows you to study at a partner university for a semester or a full academic year as part of your degree, 

Internships. Offered in collaboration with external organisations, our internships also include the chance to work for the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

Summer schools. Join an overseas summer school, combining lessons, social and cultural activities and practical sessions. 

Volunteering. Take part in worldwide volunteering opportunities with non-profits and student-led organisations.

Both our Careers Service and dedicated Global Opportunities team can guide you to find the right overseas experience for you.

Find out more:

• Explore our Careers Service support
• Find out how you'll learn at university
• Read the 10 things you should know about studying with us